1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hands free pumping and nursing brassiere. More particularly, the present invention relates to a brassiere which can be used in one mode, in a conventional manner, to nurse a child and can be used in a second mode to support breast pumps while leaving the mother's hands free.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In response to recent studies detailing the benefits of breast milk for newborn children and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that women breast feed for a minimum of one year, the number of women, and the length of time women breast feed is increasing.
The most common way for an infant to receive breast milk is by directly nursing on a woman's breast. To facilitate such breast feeding, numerous nursing brassieres are well known. These nursing brassieres allow the woman wearing them to expose sufficient breast tissue to allow the child to latch on to her breast and nurse.
While direct nursing has been used for hundreds of years, there are drawbacks to this technique. For example, it is not possible to monitor how much breast milk a child is receiving during breast feeding. Also, some children do not latch on correctly, and as a result do not receive enough nutrition. From the nursing mother's point of view there are other drawbacks, such as, sore nipples and sleep deprivation due to frequent feedings. In addition, mothers who return to work need to express their milk every 2 to 3 hours in order to maintain their milk supply and to provide a supply of milk for their baby while they are away. To overcome these problems, various breast pumps have been developed to express milk from the mother's breasts. These pumps are either manual pumps with a piston-like mechanism, or electric pumps. Both types of pumps usually have a conical pump shield that fits around the woman's nipple and facilitates the creation of a vacuum to express milk from the breast and collect it.
The use of such breast pumps can be difficult and awkward. The manual pumps are especially difficult as the mother has to hold the pump in place with one hand and operate the pump with the other hand. This leaves no hands free to see to the newborn's needs or to attend to other tasks, during pumping. The electric pumps, while not requiring a hand to operate, require the mother to hold the pump shield in place with at least one hand.
While a nursing mother can wear a nursing brassiere for proper support, and such a brassiere does not impede expressing milk with a pump, there is a need for some device that can support the mother's breasts, allow for direct nursing, and which holds a breast pump in place during expressing of milk, thereby leaving the mother's hands free. Such a device has to take into account the fact that the weight of the pump increases as milk is expressed, and therefore the device must be strong enough to maintain the pump in position even when full (at least 5 ounces and as much as 8 ounces).
One attempt at such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,166 (Silver et al.) which discloses a device and method for supporting a breast shield and related pump equipment. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a brassiere 12 having two breast cups 20 is provided. Each of the breast cups 20 has a flap 28 connected to the brassiere at the bottom of each cup 20. The cup is detachably connected to the brassiere near the shoulder strap 29. In FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12 of the Silver et al. patent, a breast pump 30 (shown in FIG. 2), having a breast shield or hood 32, can be amended with various fastener arrangements so that it can be attached to the cup 20.
In the embodiments of FIGS. 7, 9, 10, 18 and 19 of the Silver et al. patent, the breast shield 32 of the breast pump 30 is inserted through the flap 28 of the brassiere 12 so that the breast shield 32 is supported on the breast 14 between the breast 14 and the inside surface of the flap 28. These embodiments rely upon the flap 28 and a stiffened peripheral edge 590 of the breast shield 32 to cooperate to support the breast shield on the breast. In addition, the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 of the Silver patent employs an additional strap.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 of the Silver et al. patent, a flap 628 is provided and has two overlapping sections 691 and 692. The breast shield is inserted through the front of the brassiere cup and relies on sections 691 and 692 to surround the breast shield and support it against the breast. Such an arrangement would prevent a mother from nursing.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 of the Silver et al patent, the breast cup 20 may have a crisscrossed overlap portion 803. The crisscrossed overlap portion has an opening sufficient to allow insertion of the breast shield and is relied upon to surround the breast shield and to support it against the breast.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 of the Silver et al. patent, a strap 1022 is relied upon to support the breast shield 32 of the breast pump 30. The breast shield 32 is placed near the breast and the strap 1022 is fastened around the pump shield. The breast shield 32 is placed on the breast 14 and supported by the strap 1022.
The device taught in Silver et al. suffers from numerous disadvantages. First, the embodiments requiring fasteners, are cumbersome and bulky. In addition, pump shield designs vary between manufacturers and therefore not every fastener would work for each breast pump.
Second, the embodiments that do not employ fasteners will not provide sufficient force upon the breast shield to maintain the shield against the breast in such a way that sufficient vacuum can be maintained. All of the embodiments of the Silver et al. device require the breast shield to be inserted from the front of the brassiere. As a result, in order for the breast shield to fit through an opening in the cup, which is smaller than the diameter of the breast shield, the material of the cup must be elastic or flexible. Such material will not provide sufficient pressure against the breast shield as it fills with milk.
Furthermore, in the embodiments utilizing straps to secure the breast shield against the breast, the straps are not arranged so that they create even pressure all the way around the breast shield, and thus reduce the capability of the device to keep the breast shield properly positioned against the breast to maintain the necessary vacuum.
Finally, the device according to Silver et al. does not provide a simple design that is easy to utilize, provides clean lines when used solely as a breast support, and provides adequate pressure to create and maintain a vacuum between the breast shield and the breast during pumping.
From the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hands free pumping and nursing brassiere that creates appealing contours in the brassiere when not used for pumping or nursing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hands free pumping and nursing brassiere that can support the mother's breasts, allow for direct nursing, and which holds a breast pump in place during expressing of milk, thereby leaving the mother's hands free.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hands free pumping and nursing brassiere that does not employ fasteners to support the breast shield of a pump, and yet will provide sufficient force upon the breast shield to maintain the shield against the breast in such a way that sufficient vacuum can be maintained.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a hands free pumping and nursing brassiere that creates even pressure all the way around the breast shield and thus keeps the breast shield of a breast pump properly positioned against the breast to maintain the necessary vacuum.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hands free pumping and nursing brassiere that is easy to utilize, provides clean lines when used solely as a breast support, and provides adequate pressure to create and maintain a vacuum between the breast shield and the breast during pumping.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hands free pumping and nursing brassiere that can be used with a number of different manufacturer's breast pumps.